Undertow
by fauxtr0t
Summary: Imagine her surprise when the body she thought to be dead held her back. Gruvia. AU.
1. Chapter 1

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**Undertow**

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I know the warnings, disclaimers, author's notes are always so long and rambling, but I'll only be including them in this first chapter – so please do read them before advancing, you won't have to again!

This was something I just started writing for fun. I have no clue where I'm really going with it other than the basic skeleton of a plot so…here's to adventure!

Don't worry – I'll be updating Auxilium soon.

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**Warning**: This piece of fiction will contain sexual situations in later chapters as well as occasional blood, fantastical situations, and **lots **of really lewd words and swearing. Readers continue at your own discretion, please note the rating.

**Disclaimer**: Fairy Tail, its respected characters and its plot are all sole property of Hiro Mashima. Any resemblance to other pieces of literature or fiction, whether published online or on paper, is purely unintentional and merely coincidental. Any quotes or references used will be sourced either immediately or at the end of the chapter in the order that they appear.

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"What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams."

Werner Herzog

_._

The nightmares were always the same.

She was underwater in a large swimming pool – a swimming pool much like the one that her old high school swim team had used – except this one had no end and no beginning. Juvia would try to locate a way out as if she was swimming against an ocean current, the dappled reflection of fluorescent overhead lights taunting her from the water's surface. She would swim, and swim, and swim, but the darkness would only increase the further she went. Finally, when the lights began to flicker, she'd swim back, clamoring to get to where she had been before, darkness advancing at an alarming rate.

No matter how many times she dreamt this, it always ended the same:

The darkness overtook her.

Panic consumed her every nerve, tugging angrily at her kicking feet, choking her and filling her mouth a hollow, empty scream that just never, ever seemed to stop no matter how much she cried, no matter how much she thrashed and shrieked and hollered nobody would ever co –

"JUVIA!"

Blue eyes rolled open, upper body hanging in the air as her roommate's face relaxed in obvious relief, his grip on her softening. The ocean roared in her ears, its incessant call beckoning through her bedroom's open windows, but her roommate's face was all she saw, a soft light casting a halo around his wild, black hair, and even wilder eyes.

"Goddammit Juvia," he wound his arms around her in a comforting embrace, pushing her into his mane, "you gave me the fuckin' biggest scare of my life you brat."

Sweet, cool air filled her lungs and Juvia took several deep breaths before her heart rate eased down long enough for her to apologize breathlessly, tears pricking the edges of her eyes. God, this was the third time this week she had woken up from these night terrors.

"You don't have to apologize for nothin' punk," Gajeel held her out back at arms length again before he eyed her open windows, "I'm just relieved it wasn't anything major, I was worried someone had broken into your room."

Juvia shook her head, rubbing her eyes gently with the back of her balled fists, "No – nothing like that – I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Nah, not at all, I was up anyway to go for a run with Levy," Gajeel shifted back towards the edge of her bed, hopping off before stretching out his muscles and eyeing her warily, "Are you gonna be okay?"

Juvia nodded, eyes flickering to her digital alarm clock at the side of her bed, its ghostly letters blaring – barely five in the morning.

"It's kind of early to run, don't you think?" Juvia yawned, lowering herself back down onto her mattress. She still had only two hours left before work – best to make them count.

"That's the exact same thing I told her, but the girl's stubborn as anything," Gajeel grumbled, his feet thumping against the wood-paneled flooring as he stalked over to her windows, pushing them closed and latching their locks, "anyway, I'll have my cellphone – give me a call if there's any more issues. I'll lock the front door."

Juvia nodded again, sinking back into her comforter's covers. Gajeel walked back towards the switch panel next to the bedroom's door, turning up the ceiling fan's speed. His hand stalled, however, above the light switch as he looked back at his roommate's form.

"It's okay – turn it off. I'll be fine, promise."

He complied, but left the door open enough for a sliver of light to enter.

Juvia swallowed the ball in her throat and squeezed her eyes shut as the darkness enveloped her once more.

.

The weather had been poor for the past several days, but today had been absolutely gorgeous, Juvia noted as she sighed with relief, climbing out of the boat's cabin. She tied her soaked hair back up into a high ponytail, reveling in the sunshine that beat down on her bare back and shoulders. Despite being several months away from hurricane season, a freak squall had blown through nearly a week prior, bringing rain, rough ocean currents, and three to five-foot swells in just the harbor alone. Jose had refused to cancel their dives until Juvia herself barged into his dampened office, threatening to quit on the spot if he didn't reschedule their dives at _least_ until next week – they had, unfortunately, had full boats every day, but they were letting their excursion guests tread in dangerous waters (both figuratively and literally) if they allowed these dives to take place in such catastrophic conditions. Had it been any other time, her boss probably would have laughed and told her to leave, but seeing as he had lost the majority of his staff in the New Year, he was really in no place to be letting employees go.

The boat swayed gently, and Juvia let her body rock with it, making sure her bare feet were planted firmly on its floor. They had docked back at the ferry terminal nearly an hour ago, but she had been cleaning their equipment and checking the oxygen tank gauges since the rest of the team had left – if the weather kept up as nice as this, they would need to be on top of their game for the next few days to make up for the lost cost from their cancelled days.

"You're still hanging out down there in that stuffy cabin?" A pair of tanned legs swung over the dock's worn edge; bringing the body they belonged to down her eye-level.

Juvia smiled gently as their eyes locked, walking back over to where she had left her towel perched on the back of the captain's chair.

"Yes, Lyon – somebody's got to clean all of the flippers and masks."

"Well, you appear to be finishing up, so why don't we go and grab a drink?" Lyon waggled his eyebrows, the sun glimmering as it caught every facet of his silver hair. "Maybe I could take you out to dinner? There's this new place down by the boardwalk – "

"Sorry, not tonight, Lyon," Juvia wiped the sweat and water away from her face, "maybe next time?"

The young man pouted, leaning down so his elbows rested on the tops of his kneecaps.

"Aw come on, that's what you always say, I promise it'll be a good time." His pout easily turned into a charming smile, posture straightening.

Juvia shook her head apologetically.

"I promised my roommate we would work out our utilities bill tonight – trust me, I would do everything in my power to get out of doing it if I could, even if it meant getting a drink with you," she teased. It wasn't _exactly _a lie of a some grand magnitude – her and Gajeel _did_ need to work on who was paying what part of their bills for the next month, as well as discuss whether to renew their lease or not this upcoming fall. They just hadn't…gotten around to it. Maybe they actually would tonight.

Lyon sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"All right, you're off the hook this time," he climbed back to his feet and flashed her one last impish smile before walking off, "have a good night, Juvia."

Juvia held her breath until she saw his form exit the dock, exhaling in quiet relief. Darn. It wasn't that Lyon was necessarily a bad guy, not at all – he was extraordinarily handsome, even Juvia would admit that, and he had a really infectious personality to boot. She was sure that deep down, if she really did hang out with him and get to know him better, she could even possibly…form a relationship of some sort with him. Gajeel had been pressuring her for ages now to get back out into the dating world, and while Lyon and her had been flirting for some time, Juvia just wasn't…ready.

She shouldn't feel pressured into something she knew she wasn't ready for, no matter if everyone else around her wanted it.

'_What's wrong with him_?' Gajeel had demanded several weeks ago when Juvia mentioned his roundabout courtship, '_Too tall? Too short? Breathes oxygen? Talks with a _voice_?_'

"I'm just not interested in dating!" Juvia huffed out loud to herself at the memory, gathering her bag before throwing it up onto the dock, "And there's nothing wrong with that! I'll move on when I'm ready!" She hauled herself up onto the beaten wood next, jumping to her feet and marching over to the pillars where the boat's ropes were secured, tightening their salty knots.

It was true – Lyon had virtually nothing off-putting about him, bar his undying persistence, which was still fairly charming in its own way. He worked for a deep sea fishing charter that operated on the same space of dock as Juvia's dive company did, and was essentially well-liked by everyone in the town they lived in. He came from a fairly well known family as well – his sister was involved in politics, his mother had passed away several years prior, but had been a professional marine photographer before her passing. Her photographs were still prominently displayed in many important places throughout town, including the courts and city hall.

Again, the poor girl just…couldn't bring herself to find him, to her, romantically endearing.

Juvia unlocked the chain on her bike, throwing it into the woven basket that rested against the handlebars, adjusting her backpack so it sat secure and tight. Usually by this time it would already be getting rather dark out, but thankfully daylight savings time was approaching, and the sunlight seemed to stretch out for hours upon hours more.

This was the perfect weather, all in all, to end her day with a swim.

.

Despite the nightmares, Juvia still found it as easy as ever to swim in the ocean. She had been swimming before she could walk, it could never be something she could just stop – it had become a solid part of her, like a limb. Trying to quit her relationship with water was akin to cutting off her oxygen supply – not to mention, it was her job after all, and despite the anxiety that pooled in her stomach, she pressed on.

The beach Juvia swam at had been one she found nearly a month after moving in with Gajeel. Several years prior, she was extremely unfamiliar with Magnolia and on her way back to their shared residence, Juvia had missed a turn and found herself pedaling down a rather bumpy dirt road. Naturally realizing that she had messed up somewhere, she went to turn around only to stumble across a hidden inlet somewhere between rocky tide pools and the dirt road.

Nobody else knew about it. Well, nobody from what Juvia could tell, and she hadn't said anything to Gajeel or her co-workers out of fear that they would tell her some off-putting information or start going there themselves.

It was _her_ oasis – as petty and childish as that sounded.

Reaching the dirt road's familiar curve, Juvia hopped off the bike and began to walk it down the inlet's slight hill. It was still technically low tide, but slowly the water was creeping up the sand, and in several hours the beach itself would cease to exist. Juvia had seen it herself on many occasions when she didn't check the tidal reports beforehand, but oddly enough that was when she liked it best – it was like an infinity entrance swimming pool, water lapping at the honeycomb rocks and enveloping her.

She gingerly leant her bike against the rocks, taking out the lock from the basket and fastening it around the bike's torso and wheel – if anyone did try to steal it (which had not happened before, knock on figurative wood) they would have a difficult time trying to pedal away.

After work Juvia had left on her swimsuit for easy access – it was a standard navy-blue racing suit, nothing special – and though she was a fan of bikini's, they were less than favorable for her job, let alone swimming in. Strings coming undone or hardening until they cracked in half from dried sun oil…it was just all too bothersome and she didn't have time for bothersome. Shimmying out of her cutoff shorts, Juvia placed them in her backpack and stuffed it all in the window of space between her bike and the rocks.

As she padded closer and closer, the damp sand began to suck her feet deeper and deeper below the surface. It was so therapeutic – the scratch of the sand grains, the seaweed that swum around her ankles, the rush of the waves and salt air.

She was home.

Filling her lungs once more with the briny air, Juvia found herself waist-deep in the clear waters before she began to swim out further, her breaststroke fluid and calming, legs and arms moving in circular strokes against the rolling waves. Thank god that squall had passed, the last thing she wanted to do was fight large, white-capped waves.

When Juvia went swimming alone, she had several rules she always followed:

1. Never go out past the cove's last rock (that was when you had to worry about currents and riptide).

2. If you can't stand up, then go back towards the land (self-explanatory and very important).

3. Don't go swimming at dusk (that was when sharks came out to feed).

The water itself was still rather cold, but after swimming in circles Juvia found her body temperature adjusting to it and soon she was lying on her back and drifting against the rolling current. The sun was still rather high, its light dappling against the surface, though she knew it would soon be dropping. Seaweed wove itself between her toes and fingers, decorating her midsection and tangling itself in her hair.

Ahh, bliss.

Every now and then, she could feel the knowing brush of small fish against her skin – it was a normal sensation. Fish frequented the area because of the tide pools and Juvia was certain there was a small reef somewhere nearby. Once or twice she had seen a stingray fly by when she had brought a mask down with her.

Juvia began to think back to work. It had been a rather easy day; most of the guests on the excursion had been expert divers so they didn't have to really go on several practice dives before heading out to the main locations. They were standard reefs, a wreck or two, and if it was calm enough they could go to the sea plane wreck that had taken place some time in the late 80's – leaving a beautifully haunted exoskeleton and an excellent dive site.

Work was different though, she noted, without Gajeel. He had put in his two weeks a month ago – one of the many workers that had recently quit due to their boss' incompetence and pay cut – and was now back in school full-time for engineering, picking up bar back shifts on the weekends. Juvia was insanely jealous. She would give anything to go back to school right now, anything to start her on the career path she had really been wanting to take for several years. Ugh. Moving to Magnolia hadn't been a bad thing, and she really did honestly love her job (sans boss) but it frustrated her to no end that the world revolved around money and she was nowhere near a stable enough place to afford classes, even at a community college…

Not to mention her love life was near non-existent. If she hadn't wasted so many months on that damn Bora guy, chasing after him, fawning over him, breaking her heart over him…

Maybe she _should_ give Lyon a chance. She was just being unnecessarily stubborn, after all. She probably should start admitting to herself that she had purposely been putting off starting a relationship with someone else in hopes Bora would finally come rushing back to WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!

Juvia floundered for a moment, arms splashing and feet kicking as she moved her body back vertically from its laying position. Some_thing _had just brushed her GODDAMN ARM and it was in NO WAY a goddamn fish! Searching around her Juvia felt the knowing heat of panic begin to prickle up her spine. Oh god, oh god, oh god. There was no way it was a shark, it wasn't even dusk yet, and she –

The sun was inching closer to the horizon. Dusk was beginning to settle. Holy hell, how far out was she?!

Flying into an angry freestyle stroke, Juvia began zooming back to the shore, swallowing and sputtering water in her wake. What the fuck had touched her, what the _everloving_ _fuck_ had _touched_ _her_?!

That was when she felt it again – a figure bobbing against the waves, just like a buoy, brushing against her skin.

Was that…was that a _human_?

Juvia let out a horrific scream.

Oh god, it was a dead body, and dead body meant sharks.

A low groan called out against the wind, the guttural sound echoing.

Did…did the dead body just make a noise?

Oh gods, was it ALIVE?

Juvia had a choice. She could either keep paddling, flinging herself to safety, or she could let curiosity get the better of her. While the girl wasn't dumb and well aware of the best option (and the option that would keep her alive), she also was bitingly curious…

Swimming at a slower pace, she distanced herself between the figure and carefully treaded the water, circling whatever the heck it was.

In the dying light, Juvia nearly choked on another mouthful of seawater.

It was a boy.

No, not a boy – but definitely a male, one that was undoubtedly her age, with pale, sallow skin, and deep, black hair plastered to it by water. His eyes were closed, and Juvia swore she had made up the noise until he began violently coughing, his eyes scrunching tightly as more salt water invaded his mouth, causing him to sputter and gag.

He _WAS_ alive!

Juvia swam closer, carefully wrapping the male's arm around her before she began to pull him to the shore, shallow, bated breaths fanning the shell of her ear. She still had a ways to go, and would probably lose her mind if she felt that breathing stop.

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**Notes:**

Drop a review if you like what you see – it'll keep the inspiration going! Don't be afraid to share any ideas or constructive criticisms as well.


	2. Chapter 2

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**Undertow**

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Holy guacamole I had not expected to get this sort of response! My apologies for the lack of update, blah blah blah, life.

Endless love and eternal thank-you's to everyone who favourited, followed, and reviewed – this chapter wouldn't be possible without your kind words! Shout-out to Arlie and Katelynn who always provide me with wonderful words of encouragement and zillion plot ideas! The plot will really be picking up next chapter.

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**Disclaimers **and **Warnings **are located in the first chapter.

**References** and **Notes** are at the end.

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Gajeel Redfox sat at the head of his dining room table, tapping a pen against the polished wood surface. Something wasn't right, but he just couldn't put a finger on it. Several open textbooks were spread out before him, pages detailing multiple breakdowns of elaborate machinery and walls of block text. This should have been simple enough, so why couldn't he focus?!

Going back to school hadn't exactly been the easiest decision, but it had been a necessary one. Despite the stress it was causing him, Gajeel really was thankful for the second chance - not many people got one. It had, admittedly, taken some time, but he had eventually saved up enough money to avoid investing in crazy huge bank loans, not to mention the part-time job he had secured for the off-days was paying well – the tips were good, he got fed for free, and sometimes he could even bring food home. Sure, the hours were lame, and readjusting to a school curriculum in addition to those hours had been a bit difficult at first, but Levy constantly reminded him it would be rewarding in the end.

The young man groaned, slamming the pen onto the table and leaning back in his chair. Yeah, right. 'Rewarding'. It would only be 'rewarding' if he could focus and study for this goddamn mid-term!

Flicking his wrist, Gajeel checked his watch for the eighth time that hour. It was dark outside and Juvia still wasn't home yet – this wasn't necessarily unusual, a voice reminded him, as he normally wasn't home at such an early time anyway…but surely she didn't stay out this late when he wasn't home? Juvia wasn't exactly the partying type – she was very much a homebody, _especially_ during the workweek…

Could she…have finally accepted a date from that Lyon guy? That would be the ideal situation right about now, but chances were it wasn't likely. Gajeel had texted her when he originally got home, heck, he had even called her and left several voice mail messages, but she still hadn't responded…

"Maybe she went out with her coworkers?" a voice piped up from the couch, and Gajeel turned his attention over to his girlfriend's lithe form. She was nose deep in a small, dog-eared paperback book, and for a moment Gajeel almost thought she hadn't meant to speak.

"I worked with the same guys, Levy – they never go out on weeknights, plus you're not allowed to drink or smoke eight hours prior to a dive," Gajeel huffed out, leaning back in his chair. No, this just didn't add up, it smelled incredibly fishy. [**i**]

"Would it make you feel better if you called her again, or maybe we could go for a drive and look around? We can take my car," Levy lowered the book, closing and placing it against her crossed legs.

Gajeel hesitated. If Juvia saw all of the missed calls with voicemails, and then came home to find him out searching for her, she would probably fuss him out for worrying so much…

Oh, to hell with it all.

"Fuck it, let's go."

Levy unfolded her limbs from the couch, grabbing her bag while Gajeel shrugged on a jacket, fumbling for his keys and cellphone, pocketing the device just as it began to vibrate angrily against his thigh.

Juvia.

Gajeel hurriedly pulled it back out, accepting the call instantly, his eyes already seeing red.

"Where the fuck are you, I have been worried sic – "

"Are you, ah, 'Gajeel'?" A young man's voice cut through Gajeel's rant, and for once he felt completely and utterly dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"Oh thank god," the voice breathed an audible sigh of relief, "I've found…I think I've found your girlfriend? She's okay, but she's unconscious, I can't tell what happened, but it looks like she collapsed from exhaustion."

"Give me your exact location, I'm on my way."

He slammed the door shut once he and Levy had both exited.

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The sun was setting low already, it's light decreasing at an alarming rate. Juvia felt her knees suck into the wet sand as she desperately pulled the young boy's body further up the inlet's beach. Against the fading afternoon light, she leaned over his body, watching as drops of seawater fell from her hair and splashed against the bridge of his nose. Despite the water's temperature, his cheeks had a strange, vibrant flush of pink, as if he had been wrapped up in a warm, dry blanket instead of floating against the ocean swell. He…he couldn't have been under for _that_ long if he looked like this…right? His eyes were still closed, eyelashes so long and thick that they fluttering in the breeze, lips parted. He was so…he was really…

"Cute," Juvia murmured, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment while her eyes traveled down the length of his body, only averting when she realized that he was completely, and utterly, unclothed.

Cradling her burning face, she mentally chastised herself. This was no time to be ogling a complete stranger! Juvia wracked her brain, begging it to work and focus on anything other than what lay between the valleys of his hips.

What should she do? Should she call 911? Call Gajeel? Gods, what were the steps for CPR again? Was he breathing?! Yes – check if he was breathing! Check his pulse! Juvia pressed her head against the boy's chest, making sure to avert her gaze anywhere but his torso and the sparse trail of hair that led to it. Nothing was moving as it should be, though his skin felt oddly warm, as if there was the faintest…tick of a pulse…

A pulse!

Bunching her hand into a fist and covering it with her other, she began to pump rhythmically against his naked chest. After several more pumps, she moved to tilt his head to gain easier access, hesitating before parting his lips with her fingers, inching his jaw back. She didn't know why she was hesitating so much and scolded herself under her breath again, attempting to steady her trembling hands. It couldn't be helped – the feel, the soft pull of his lips against the pads of her fingertips, was almost maddening.

'_Just do it already_!' her conscience barked, and Juvia took a gulp of air before locking their open mouths together.

He tasted how swallowing a mouthful of seawater felt, and smelled reminiscent of the docks at high tide; waves slitted with gasoline rainbows, algae-bitten wood, old ropes caked in drying salt spray. It was all too much for her, and Juvia immediately flung back, hacking and coughing violently, white-hot nausea spreading at an alarming rate. She clutched at her chest and the sand beside her; pulling up clumps and clamoring for any trace of fresh, clean air.

In between gulps of air, Juvia crawled over to her bike, fisting through the bag she had secured to retrieve a sports bottle with several sips left in it.

Finishing off its contents, Juvia fell back against the sand, breathing in deeply as her throat opened back up and the tears ceased. It had been like choking on firewood and smoke, like drowning in a vat of oil, like swallowing a mouthful of hot tar. It was…the cruelest form of torture she could think of. Gazing up at the sky, she couldn't help but notice that the sun had set completely, stars emerging against its last tendrils of light. If she didn't feel like death, if she wasn't already shivering from the onset of night, Juvia would have thought it all to be too beautiful to be real.

"I'm sorry."

A voice parted the night air, and Juvia flung her body up into a seated position, rubbing her eyes with the sandy heels of her fists.

Had he…just spoken?

The boy was in front of her, his face teetering dangerously close to hers, with pupil-less black eyes and hair just as dark. It had been a single fluid motion, his limbs moving at a pace she hadn't seen before, like he was swimming in the night air, as graceful and wild as any animal. His body curving with the wind, melting into the sand, it was all too much to be considered normal.

"S-Sorry?" Juvia coughed again, covering her mouth.

The boy lifted his hand ever so gingerly, lightly brushing the tips of his fingers against her cheek. His touch trailed down, stalling dangerously close to Juvia's lips, before he pulled back, eyes forlorn and heavy with an unyielding promise. Neither said anything for a while, wind whipping against their bodies.

Juvia shivered, teeth clattering.

"I'm sorry."

Everything went dark.

.

At first, it was cold. The type of cold that was unrelenting, that bit at your skin and crawled inside your bones to burrow against your marrow. Then, just when Juvia thought it would never end, it was warm – so warm that she could have sworn she was outside, lain bare underneath the beating sun. There were voices…lots of voices. Voices that echoed and thrummed against the shell of her clogged ears. They bleated, overlapping to the point that Juvia couldn't decide if they were actually voices at all. It felt like she was underwater again, and just as she began to drift off once more, just as the voices began to feel akin to a lullaby, her ears opened.

Suddenly everything was _too_ loud, everything _too_ bright, the voices were speaking words she knew and in tongues she understood. Everything was blurry as her eyes opened but it all came into focus the longer she held her lids up. A ceiling fan danced above, its blades swinging in a taunting rhythm against the blaring lights.

She was in her room. She was in her bed. She was alive and breathing and there were still voices, there were still people, and as Juvia felt her body sit up she was immediately shoved back down by the force of gravity. Everything felt heavy, like there were diving weights attached to every inch of her body.

There was a figure above her, blocking the light, a wild mess of hair and piercings that glinted against the bedroom light.

"Is she awake?"

Levy.

"I think so."

Gajeel.

Her vision began to clear, edges and line smoothing out against the brilliant glow of her bedroom light.

"How're you feeling?"

Juvia opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out other than a cough. She sat up, heaving against the palm of her hand, saliva dripping from her mouth in thick rivulets.

She was going to puke.

Before she could catch herself, there was a trash bag catching the contents of her stomach. Cold hands pressed against the nape of her neck, gathering her hair into a low bun. As the tears stalled and her body had given its all, Juvia wiped the back of her hand against her mouth, collapsing back against the pillows of her bed.

"S-sorry," she stammered, hands still shaking against her face. Once she had settled again, Levy helped her back up to drink several gulps of water.

"Don't be sorry, Juvia," the girl smiled, "we're just glad you're okay!"

Gajeel nodded, "What the hell happened? We considered taking you to a hospital, but…"

They couldn't afford the bills. Juvia knew.

Where…had she been? Juvia closed her eyes, wracking her brain. She…had been at work. Yes, work. Then Lyon had been there, he asked her out, she declined, and instead had opted to go for a…swim…

"I was swimming…" she muttered, wiping her face with the cool, wet cloth Levy had given her, "…and I…I don't know what happened."

"Some guy called me from your cellphone," Gajeel scratched his chin. He needed to shave, Juvia thought. He was beginning to grow quite the five o'clock shadow.

"A guy?"

"But when we got there, you were alone," Levy clarified, "did you go swimming with someone else?"

Juvia felt the white-hot pricking heat of nausea begin to creep back up her spine. Someone else…was there…

The boy.

There was a boy.

A boy with black hair and blacker eyes, skin that ebbed against the night air like the scales of a fish, brilliant with taut, sinewy muscles. A boy that she had carried to shore, a boy who's body she had hauled up against the gritty wet sand and pumped air into, a boy she had…kissed…

They would think she was absolutely insane.

"No…" she braced for impact, hiding her face inside the comfort of the wet washcloth Levy had handed her, "I…I usually go swimming alone in that cove."

She couldn't tell them, not now.

"I'm going to go and put on some water for tea," Levy reached out and squeezed Juvia's arm before she left the room, toting the plastic bag Juvia had vomited in. She closed the door gently behind her.

Gajeel sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Well, I guess you have a damn good guardian angel," he grumbled, the volume of his voice increasing as he continued, "literally anything could have happened to you. What if you drowned? What if you had collapsed and some psychotic rapist had come along?! Do you understand the position you put yourself in?!"

Juvia groaned inwardly. Here came the scolding.

"You're so fucking lucky. I still can't believe you would have chanced going out to swim by yourself at that time of day."

Gajeel's fists were clenched so tight that the tendons of his knuckles were near bone-white, mirroring the small, similar-colored scars that littered his olive skin. Juvia knew that he was only doing it because he loved her, but that only seemed to make her feel worse.

"Juvia's sorry, Gajeel."

It had been a while since she used third person. She hadn't meant to, but it couldn't be helped – it was a poor response to what he had said and she knew that. Gajeel didn't answer for a while and for a moment, Juvia was almost certain he hadn't heard her until his hand was against the crown of her head, rubbing it gently.

"I know."

"Juvia never wanted to make Gajeel worry," once she started she couldn't stop, her breathing beginning to labor as she choked on the words, "Juvia didn't want to hurt anyone, Juvia didn't mean to scare anyone, Juvia didn – "

"I know," Gajeel pulled her against his chest until her breathing began to even out again, vomit be damned, "I know, and I'm sorry I gave you shit. That wasn't fair to you."

As he pulled away, Juvia could feel the tears spill from her cheeks. How she had the energy to even produce them was far beyond her.

"Maybe you should take a couple days off of work," Gajeel offered, "take some time to yourself. Regroup, y'know? You need some good rest, and going out on these tours isn't going to help you."

"I'll see how I feel in the morning," Juvia glanced at her alarm clock.

Seven forty-three.

"Maybe if I get a good night's sleep I'll feel better."

Gajeel nodded, taking the hint. As he began to move towards the door, Levy walked back in smiling, carrying a wooden tray with several cups and a teapot, each with a river of steam curling up into the air.

Juvia accepted one of the mugs, but Gajeel mentioned he still had studying to do, so the couple left her alone.

"Might as well change out of this swimsuit and take a shower," Juvia murmured to herself, blowing at her steaming teacup before taking a sip, wincing at the heat.

.

"Good morning! My name is Juvia and I will be your scuba guide today!"

The group was small – only six people – and they were all middle-aged couples, each one returning her greeting as they sat in the back of the boat. Each of them were experienced divers, an even bigger plus for Juvia – they all would know what they were doing, and wouldn't need much assistance, other than getting out of the water.

"We're going to be viewing several points of interest on today's tour, most notably a famous wreck site by a popular reef known as 'Calico's Shoal'. It's rumored to be a spot favored by the famous pirate, Calico Jack, whenever he made passages through this island chain."

She still felt sick. Her stomach was weak, though she had managed to eat a slice of dry, unbuttered toast that morning with another cup of tea. Thankfully today the sea was flat calm, not a wave in site, and the boat hadn't been rocking as much as the day's prior. Though, Juvia couldn't deny that sitting and waiting by the ferry dock had been horrid – she never again wanted to smell the gasoline and brine from there again. It had been pure torture until they had driven out into the open ocean, fresh air cleaning her nostril, throat, and lungs.

Shrugging on her equipment, Juvia waited for the group to follow suit before she motioned to them, taking the plunge beneath the oceans surface. Her stomach flipped for a second and the bubbles disoriented her momentarily, but as her breathing began to even out, she felt her stomach settle. After checking her regulator, Juvia looked up and around at the other divers as they circled her. Placing her fist on top of her head, Juvia waited for the others to mirror her before they took off, her coworker Totomaru in tow behind the group. [**ii**][**iii**]

Being underwater was indescribable. Every single time she entered the ocean's surface, Juvia always felt incredibly overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of such an alien world. Sunlight shone down in dappled rays, dancing across the swaying sea grass that lay on the ocean's floor. There were schools of small fish that darted between the blades, breaking apart and then swimming back together. A large stingray grazed by, kicking up sand in its wake. Juvia kept moving forward, tracking the markers and buoys that they had set up to guide the tour, only halting once they reached their intended destination.

Rarely did they encounter sharks around this reef, but she had already warned her group to stay alert back on the boat. They traced the outskirts of the reef, several people stopping to admire the purple sea fans as they swayed against the current. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be as many fish as there usually were, Juvia noted. Schools in the open ocean were sparse, that wasn't uncommon, but the reef seemed near empty – that was enough to spark a slight alarm.

Diving deeper, Juvia let her group admire the multiple coral types, waiting for them to take in their fill before they continued towards the wreck.

After checking her gauge, Juvia placed her fist on her head again and once everyone had done the same, she nodded towards Totomaru. They switched places, Juvia now trailing behind as her co-worker motioned for the group to follow his lead.

Old shipwrecks were very common, especially around these parts. During the golden age of piracy, Magnolia's port had become a hot bed for would-be pirate crews. Fact being, if you weren't sunk by the navy, your ship was more than likely sunk by scraping against a reef, rocks, or a large hurricane. [**iv**]

This shipwreck in particular, however, was a very well-known site – not only because of the history surrounding the wreck, but because of who had been involved and what they had recovered in the early 1990's. Juvia watched as the group approached the ship's rusted exo-skeleton, taking their time to explore around the worn holes and hollowed out bow. There were a few more fish here than there had been by the reef, which was a slight bit more reassuring to Juvia, albeit still odd. As she propelled herself towards the inside of the ship, a shadow caught in the corner of her eye, and she quickly spun around, searching for where it had gone. While the wreck itself, much like a reef, was free of shark activity, that didn't mean that they didn't lurk. Normally, sharks didn't really care about you as long as you weren't in their way and it wasn't feeding time – the animals, much to the contrary of how the media portrayed them – were quite docile.

Still, it was worth noting if one was nearby – maybe it was not a shark, even, but a dolphin, a manta ray, an eagle ray, possibly a whale if they were so lucky (though that sort of a sighting was even more rare than any of the aforementioned animals). Regardless, they had to report what they had seen on the tour every day and at which specific location, mostly for research purposes. Sharks especially were tagged and followed, and a lot of labs would approach scuba tour companies for their assistance in monitoring sea creature sightings and other various pieces of information.

Juvia swum around the curve of the ship's bow, checking inside to make sure the tour was still going as planned. Totomaru was pointing out the ship's rooms as the divers admired – all seemed fine, nobody seemed spooked, and they would more than likely be heading back to the boat soon to move onto the next location.

The wreck's bow was fine, but as Juvia was swimming towards the back, she saw it.

It wasn't a shark, and it most certainly wasn't a dolphin, or a stingray of any kind.

It was a human boy.

A burst of bubbles escaped from Juvia's mask, the gasp audible in her ears, and she began to feel that white-hot nausea creep up again. Time stood still as she floated there, suspended in the embrace of the ocean, stalling just long enough for him to turn around and see her.

She would have noticed those black eyes anywhere.

.

**References: **

[**i**] – Not too important, but yeah – you can't drink or smoke basically twelve hours before a dive.

[**ii**] - A fist on the top of your head means 'I'm okay'. I have never scuba dived personally, but I work for a shore excursion company and have a lot of friends that are professional divers and have told me a wealth of knowledge about their expeditions, as well as guided tours they've given.

[**iii**] – Sorry if this wasn't obvious – Juvia works with her old Phantom Lord guild mates in this AU.

[**iv**] – I haven't determined where this AU is exactly, but for legitimacy let's say it's located somewhere in the Caribbean, think between the Bahamas and Cuba.

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**Notes**:

I am not happy with aspects of this chapter (cough mega rough draft cough) and I had considered making it longer, but for now I like the cliffhanger. If you have an opinion (shorter chapters, quicker updates OR longer chapters, slower updates) please tell me! If you have any theories, any plot ideas, or constructive criticism, please review and tell me! If you enjoyed this chapter drop a line, I would love to hear your thoughts.

You are all so wonderful, thank-you!


	3. Chapter 3

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**Undertow**

**.**

Thank-you all for the wonderful reviews! Oh my gosh, I would be lying if I said they didn't keep me going. I appreciate every single one and always read them – I will try to get better with replying to them, too!

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**Disclaimers and Warnings  
>are listed in the first chapter.<strong>

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For as long as he could remember, which was regretfully not long at all, Mikoto had told him that humans could not be trusted.

"They pollute and they destroy, they have no care for anything that does not directly involve them," she would spit, "ungrateful little cretins."

He knew he was one, though. He knew he was, because he looked like them, spoke like them – he knew because his body was just as mortal, came with limitations, came with a set of rules, even if they were different ones. Stay beneath the surface by land, do not speak with anyone, and most importantly, do not allow yourself to be seen.

Unfortunately, in a span of one night and one day, he had broken all three.

Several times.

So why had he felt no remorse when he saw that girl again? Certainly a part of him had wanted to – he had been lolling against the breast of a wave for miles, trying to seek out that cove again, maddened by the way her lips had felt, the way her skin had warmed, flush against his own. It was so foolish of him to hope she had been doing the same.

But he would have been lying if he denied the heat that had coursed through his spine when he saw that familiar blue hair again.

Her face was hidden by the bulk of her diving mask as their gazes locked, but despite its size, it left little to the imagination. He could see her sleepy, midnight-blue eyes as they widened beneath glass, watched as the mouthpiece fell out of her slackened jaw – she recognized him, no doubt about that.

Instead of swimming closer to him, though, she shook her head and kicked away. In all fairness, he didn't blame her in the slightest for taking a wary approach to his presence – if anything; it was almost admirable.

A careful voice parted through his thoughts, doubt heavily laced within its words. Did she have even the faintest clue that her entire body exuded an aura – one that vibrated and gleamed off of her skin in a brilliant, warm luminescence, similar to how the sun catches the silvery scales of a large fish? Surely, she had to know. The girl was a beacon, a lighthouse - how did she expect him to just swim away? Her entire being, every ripple of her skin, had been on fire when he touched her that night. When she pressed her lips against his, held his face, tilting his chin just so…surely she couldn't just be another human. By now, she had to know that there was something more.

The poor girl continued to kick away frantically and he followed; edging closer and closer the further she tried to push him away, filling any space she opened between their bodies.

His speed scared her. He decided he liked that part most of all – the way she reacted to him, how her head snapped back out of shock when he was mere inches from her mask, hair pulling against the ocean current like a frightened animal. Swimming closer, just enough that he could bathe in her light, the boy reached out to push his hands into those tousled strands, admiring the way they caught between his fingers. Part of him had wanted to see if she was actually real – a test – but another part of him, a more feral one, had been clamoring to do it since she had fainted into his arms the night before. It was the color of the morning sky; a pure, captivating blue, unlike any shade underneath the ocean, and it had smelled like something he remembered from a filmy, long-lost memory. When she had lain against him on the beach, the curtain of her hair sliding beneath his collarbone and tickling the column of his throat, he almost had taken her back with him.

Almost.

The girl, for what it was worth, never moved an inch after he begun playing with her hair. Maybe she was too scared; maybe he had broken her. Maybe she enjoyed it. He wished he could ask her to do the same to him, even if her touch was fleeting.

To feel her hands against his scalp would be the ultimate sin.

So he trailed his hand lower, cupping his palm against the curved bone of her jawline, amazed at how the light that fed off of her skin bathed him in its heat with barely a brush of his finger tips.

"Why are you here."

.

Juvia tried to swim away, but her legs wouldn't work. Nothing worked. She couldn't even tear her eyes away from him – the hold he had on her was pulled taut, an anchor.

There was a way that the sunlight caught in his hair. It moved with the ocean's current, like grass on the seafloor, pulling against the contours of his face, curling against the base of his neck. Before she knew it he was in front of her and she could see everything – every fine detail, illuminated by the sun's dappled rays filtering through the water's surface. Pupil-less black eyes, as deep as any ocean depth, too-long eyelashes, a bow-shaped mouth – just as perfect as she remembered, a Grecian god.

But he couldn't possibly be a god. He was like a sea serpent – something more than that, a mythical creature – one you read about in large, hardcover books with yellowed pages and fraying spines. Creatures that mothers tell their children about, creatures that lured people into watery graves with beautifully carved faces and whispered secrets, creatures that one should tread carefully with.

Then…he touched her. He stroked her face, fingers sweet and graceful, running through her hair and carefully brushing against her jaw like a lover. Juvia had leaned into his palm – and could anyone really blame her? How could she turn away, forget that he had ever been a tangible thing? It had felt like a soothing lullaby, melodic and comforting – and she still had so many questions.

"Why are you here."

His lips didn't move, but she had heard his voice, clear as a bell.

Juvia almost answered him, only catching herself when the mouthpiece to her tank popped out for a second time, a large bubble of oxygen obstructing her view.

"It's okay," the phantom voice offered, its owners eyes barely an inch from her field of vision once the bubbles had cleared, hand now gone, "it was a rhetorical question. I know you can't answer."

The girl turned around, looking back to the ship. There were people in there, and she didn't know how they would react to a naked man chasing after her, let alone one without any form of equipment.

He followed her line of vision, watching as the group of divers came into view, exploring the wreck's cavernous hull. Oblivious, they didn't seem to have a clue that she had left to circle around, and Totomaru was still guiding them through to the ship's bow up towards its broken mast.

Nodding in what Juvia could only determine was quiet understanding, the boy turned away from her.

"I'll find you again," his voice was haunting, distorted by the body of water he had left between them in his wake, "there are only so many hours left in the day until you return to the surface."

He didn't turn around to see her wave.

.

Her body convulsed in a cold, feverish sweat the entire ride back home - she was even shaking as they pulled up to the ferry docks. Her stomach had been in knots from the nausea, but on top of that, the boy had followed them the entire way; curving against the wake of the boat, feet kicking around the corner of every reef, a shock of dark hair out of the corner of her eye. Always out of reach, but ever present, like a ghost.

Everything still held a dream-like quality from their last encounter – nothing felt real, but it didn't feel quite imaginary, either. She still felt the wind whipping her drying hair, still felt the sun beating down on her forearms, the loud call of gulls as they flew overheard. Why was she so terrified? If his intention was to kill her, he would have done that already…and she had saved him! She had saved his life! Certainly he owed her?

Or possibly she hadn't saved him, but endangered him more…

What the hell was he?!

"You okay?" Totomaru laid a gentle hand atop her shoulder, chuckling as she jumped slightly from the contact, "you look a little paler than usual."

Juvia smiled back up at her coworker. He moved his arm, slinging it casually around her frame, bringing the girl against his chest to affectionately kiss the crown of her head.

"C'mon," Totomaru released her, walking back to the captain's chair to lift the engines out of the water, "it was an awesome day and you were great, as always. We made some killer tips, too. Jose's going to be happy."

Juvia wrinkled her nose, and Totomaru let out a bark of laughter as he looked over his shoulder, pocketing the boat's key in his backpack. He gave a short wave before hoisting himself up onto the dock, and Juvia returned the gesture before turning her attention back to the water-laden dive equipment.

Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, she took in a deep breath of fresh air, only to regret it immediately. Removing the thick curtain of hair from her neck's base had helped with the nausea momentarily, but was soon replaced by the boats turbulent rocking and the stench of low tide.

Maybe she needed to…just…lay down…

"Are you okay?"

Juvia whipped her head around.

Did someone…

"You don't look like you're feeling too well."

The boat lurched as weight was pressed against one side, and Juvia almost lost her footing – once as the boat rocked, twice as he stood in front of her, dripping wet and stark naked after climbing into the boat.

"What are you doing here?!" Juvia's hands flew to her flustered face as she stumbled backwards, knocking the oxygen tanks. They spilled across the boats deck one by one, their metal canisters rolling in circles.

The boy bent to pick one up.

"These things are awfully heavy, and here I thought they were supposed to be full of air," he mused, rolling the tank between his arms, "isn't this a burden to swim with?"

Oh god. Someone was going to see him. How could he be fine with this?!

"You still didn't answer my question!" Juvia peeked between her fingers and immediately regretted it – he was in front of her, sinewy, sweat-sheened muscle and water-laden skin – but it was his eyes that frightened her most; they raked across the expense of her body, empty and full all at once.

"You didn't answer mine when I asked you a similar question earlier today."

Drops of water ran along the curves of his face in thick, wet streaks, pouring off of his jaw, lining the contours of his throat, catching by the indents of his collarbone. Juvia was sure if she dared follow their paths down his body, (gulp), she would see a large puddle pooling by his feet.

"That's because I was underwater!" The girl retorted, closing her fingers again, "that doesn't count!"

"Why aren't you looking at me?"

The boy's fingers were just as they had been before, warm but wet, as he grasped one of her wrists, gently moving her hand. Rivulets of water streamed down her arm, pooling at her elbow as she relented, giving into his touch.

"Y-You're," she still turned her attention away, fumbling to find the appropriate way to tell him that he was standing there, stark-ass naked…

"I'm what?" He cocked an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest, arm retracted.

"You're," Juvia gulped, eyes flitting back to his face, "_naked_."

The boy's eyes widened momentarily, but quickly lowered again as his lips pulled into a taunt frown. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything…

"So? It's just a body," he nodded down towards her torso, "you are no different than me once you remove your clothes."

Juvia felt her face heat up once again, but just as she was about to retort that it certainly was _not_ the same, that she lacked a _certain_ _appendage_ between her own legs, another wave of nausea hit and she fell onto the floor.

The boy mirrored her actions, falling beside her to ask if she was all right, but all Juvia could manage was a weak nod before curling like a leaf against the boat's floor, clutching her stomach with quick, labored breaths.

.

Water lapped against her chin as she came to. Shaking her head, Juvia buried it deeper against the warm, solid form beside her, murmuring incoherent words.

"How are you feeling?"

Her eyes snapped open.

The boy had her cradled to his chest, heartbeat still nonexistent as he held her body beneath the water. The boat was to her left, his right, casting a large, welcome shadow against their bare shoulders and neck.

Juvia clenched her teeth, gritting them against the spinning of her head. Had this been any other instance, she would probably be blushing profusely from their proximity, but unfortunately she couldn't focus on anything other than the rocking of the waves. Oh god, why did she feel so sick? Why was her body reacting so violently to all of this?

She had a million more questions, but the only one she could mutter out was:

"What's going on?"

The boy's chest rumbled. Whether out of laughter or a groan, the poor girl couldn't tell.

"I knew there was something different about you," he wasn't answering her question again, "but I figured it was something better for you to learn by yourself, eh?"

Juvia sighed, rolling her eyes and lulling her head against the boy's chest.

"You need to be in the water – you're feeling sick when you're on dry land, and me poisoning you certainly hasn't helped," the boy looked down at her, nudging the back of her head with his forearm, "well, you poisoned yourself when you kissed me, but technicalities aside, you really should try not to distance yourself too far from it. Doing that will only make you feel worse, as I'm sure you've noticed by now."

Juvia finally began to rotate her body, shoving her hands against the boy's chest, forcing him to release her from his grip. Complying gently, face still masked in a bored expression, he kept his gaze locked onto her as she began to swim towards the dock, gripping onto the boat's ladder. Damn it all, Juvia sighed – he had taken her into the water fully clothed. Her cellphone had better not have been in the pockets of her shorts…

"Okay, listen," she called over to him, poised against the ladder's metal body, "this is quite obviously a sick and twisted dream – there's no way you're real, there's no way this is all happening, and I refuse to believe that there is any sense in anything you've said."

He didn't look entertained.

"So here's what we're going to do," Juvia continued, prompted by the boy's silence, "I'm going to go home, and I'm going to pretend like none of this happened."

It was, incidentally, the last thing she really wanted to do, but this entire scenario was just becoming too weird for the girl to handle. Sure, he was absolutely gorgeous, and sure, she wouldn't mind…maybe…just spending a little more time with him…but…

"None of this is making any sense," Juvia muttered to herself, white-knuckled grip tightening against the ladder's body, "none whatsoever."

"What part isn't making any sense to you?"

He was next to her again.

"None of this!" Juvia wanted to push him away, "What the hell are you? Why the hell can you breathe and talk underwater, how the hell can you move so fast, without as much as a ripple?" Gods, she was shouting now, eyes closed, head shaking from side to side – someone was sure to hear, and if it was anyone please don't let it be Lyon, "how is any of this real?! None of it is logical! How the hell am I supposed to believe anything you're saying, when I feel as if I'm going absolutely mental myself!"

At first, his bored expression stayed immobile as he folded his arms against his chest. Sighing deeply, the boy closed his eyes; head rolling from side to side as his bones cracked, shoulders rotating and stretching.

"I can't really say too much more to you," as if she could believe that, "guess you'll just have to trust me."

A playful smile quirked its way on to his lips, and Juvia groaned, sliding back down the ladder so she could dip her head beneath the water's surface. At most, it cooled the feverish heat encompassing her face and neck, it the most soothing way possible. This was maddening – since when had the ocean begun to feel this way? She wanted to cry.

"I'll tell you more about it though," his tone was cheeky as it called to her against the ocean current, "that is, if you want me to."

He was beneath the water now, too – treading in front of her, and Juvia suddenly felt more vulnerable than she had ever been.

"I don't know all of the answers," this was as honest as he was going to get, "but I can help you find them."

"How?" the words had left her mouth before she could stop them, and Juvia realized that she had just spoken underwater – and it had been clear. She could hear herself, just as she heard him.

"I have my sources."

"What's your name?" she asked finally, her voice breaking on the final syllable – he still scared her. Everything terrified her right then, especially the wicked grin that spread against his face.

"I promise – if you let me see you again, I'll answer your questions."

His words still seemed empty. What else could she do other than comply? She wanted answers, and he was the only one who could give them to her.

"Promise me," she began, but he nodded before she could finish.

"I promise."

"Promise me," Juvia continued, "that you'll let me go when you're done – promise me that, despite what happens, I'll be allowed to return to the surface."

It was a strange request, but nonetheless, the boy agreed, pushing away from the boat's body, legs kicking, "I promise," he offered, kicking several times before the ocean swallowed him whole.

But he would certainly miss her when she did.

.

Mikoto knew already, of course. Mikoto knew everything. She knew where he came from, what he was called, why he was the way he was, and before he could return to her, he could feel her anger. The inescapable anger, which spoke to him in the waves that beat against the moss-caked hulls of boats, in the water spouts that angrily swarmed between archipelagos, in the tumultuous riptides that dragged people down into watery depths.

He had felt the chill before he even reached her resting place.

"Do you remember why I gave you the name I did?" Mikoto's hollow voice echoed against the beaten rocks, sweet and soothing, like the gentle, rolling crest of a wave. The night sky was so bright right then, brighter than it had been for weeks – he could see it – and he almost wished that he had stayed by that girl and her beach, for several minutes longer.

When she had given him air, she had tasted the way he always wanted to feel – and he needed that again.

"I named you Gray, after the Baltic," he knew that, "and the sky that lay above it. Because when you came into my life, you were as ferocious and fierce as its waters. You were so beautiful, but so guarded, full of secrets."

Gray exhaled, worn from this exchange already.

He didn't want to hear about what Mikoto had to say. She was always saying these things – words and sentences prettied up by fancy alliteration and adjectives.

"I'm tired of the ocean," he muttered, "I'm sick of being here."

As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he should have kept them bottled up.

"What can I do to make you happy?"

She knew what he wanted.

"Let me go."

Mikoto didn't speak.

"I'm a human, Mikoto."

Clarification – please, all he wanted was clarification.

"No, you're not."

Her voice had wavered.

"I'm a human, and you know it," Gray clenched his fists against his kneecaps, "why can't you just let me live a normal life?"

"You know that's not how it works, my dear," that damn soothing voice again, so fucking patronizing, "You need to understand – "

"I understand it well enough! For a single minute, could you please think about something other than what you want!?"

He was shouting now – it was useless, and he didn't care. What day was it? What year? How old was he? Mikoto wasn't his mother, and if she was, where was his father? This was so tiring, so repetitive, where were the answers he had craved for so long?

All of the others got to know.

"I give you everything," she was crying now, he could see the rain on the water's surface, "I give you literally everything I have, all of my love, all of my most treasured possessions, everything I do is for you, and nothing makes you happy. Nothing. You're such spoiled, wicked child, just like all of the other humans, you only seek to hurt me."

Gray wanted to leave more than anything, even if it meant hurting her. He wanted to find out about this girl, wanted to find a way to escape.

"You know I'm right."

"I give you a girl and you don't want her," her weeping escalated, waves roaring and raging, "I give you a boy and you don't want him."

"You killed them."

"I only killed them because I wanted them to be here for you."

"I told you not to," Gray ground out, "and then whenever I tried to talk to them, you tore them apart!"

How could she possibly expect him to live such a lonely existence? One could only swim with so many fish, search for so many shells, watch from the tide pools as people got to experience and he could only survive.

"You don't know what I do for you," she moaned, "what I've done for you. I saved you. I gave up so much, I fought for you, and you repay me by breaking my rules, you show your thanks by letting someone touch you, letting someone hold you, promising her that you'll return to speak with her again…"

"Enough!" Gray yelled, "Enough, Mikoto! Enough! I want to fucking leave, I want you to break whatever it is you have binding me to you and I want to go!"

"You want to be with her, don't you?"

Silence.

"Good luck with that little task," her voice was low, cold, wicked, "the sky and the sea can never find true harmony."

He swam away then, engulfing himself in the unyielding darkness, but her tears followed him no matter where he went.

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**Notes**

SHIT GETTIN' REAL.

I'm so sorry if any part of this was confusing – I was trying to make it as informational as possible without giving away too much, but I think I just made things more complicated.

Drop a line and let me know what you think! What do you think Gray is? What do you think Juvia is? Who the heck is Mikoto?

Until next time!

x


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